Comparison of the modified agglutination test and real-time PCR for detection of Toxoplasma gondii exposure in feral cats from Phillip Island, Australia, and risk factors associated with infection

Adriaanse, Katherine; Firestone, Simon M.; Lynch, Michael; Rendall, Anthony R.; Sutherland, Duncan R.; Hufschmid, Jasmin; Traub, Rebecca J.

doi:10.1016/j.ijppaw.2020.05.006

Cited by 13 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 33 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Researchers used different reference tests to estimate and compare the diagnostic performance of their ELISAs. Given that no perfect diagnostic test exists to detect toxoplasmosis in animals, each reference test is likely to differ in sensitivity and specificity [ 78 ], thereby affecting the calculated performance of the ELISA in question. Hence, comparison of diagnostic performance across different studies is complex and some seemingly perfect results (100% sensitivity and/or specificity) should be interpreted with care because perfect results may not necessarily mean the ELISA is perfect.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Descriptive Comparison of ELISAs for the Detection of Toxoplasma gondii Antibodies in Animals: A Systematic Review

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Toxoplasma gondii is the zoonotic parasite responsible for toxoplasmosis in warm-blooded vertebrates. This systematic review compares and evaluates the available knowledge on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), their components, and performance in detecting T. gondii antibodies in animals. Four databases were searched for published scientific studies on T. gondii and ELISA, and 57 articles were included. Overall, indirect (95%) and in-house (67%) ELISAs were the most used types of test among the studies examined, but the ‘ID Screen® Toxoplasmosis Indirect Multi-species’ was common among commercially available tests. Varying diagnostic performance (sensitivity and specificity) and Kappa agreements were observed depending on the type of sample (serum, meat juice, milk), antigen (native, recombinant, chimeric) and antibody-binding reagents used. Combinations of recombinant and chimeric antigens resulted in better performance than native or single recombinant antigens. Protein A/G appeared to be useful in detecting IgG antibodies in a wide range of animal species due to its non-species-specific binding. One study reported cross-reactivity, with Hammondia hammondi and Eimeria spp. This is the first systematic review to descriptively compare ELISAs for the detection of T. gondii antibodies across different animal species.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Descriptive Comparison of ELISAs for the Detection of Toxoplasma gondii Antibodies in Animals: A Systematic Review

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Previous assisted colonizations suggest that the species would be successful in the presence of cats despite some cat predation and fatalities attributed to toxoplasmosis (Groenewegen et al 2017). Toxoplasmosis is prevalent on Phillip Island (Adriaanse et al 2020), and it remains unknown whether bandicoots are capable of developing antibodies. Our model is based on the ecosystems largely present in conservation reserves on Phillip Island, which support high structural complexity of habitat.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…on Phillip Island (Adriaanse et al 2020), and it remains unknown whether bandicoots are capable of developing antibodies. Our model is based on the ecosystems largely present in conservation reserves on Phillip Island, which support high structural complexity of habitat.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Feral cats are known to prey upon bandicoot species (Doherty et al 2015, Groenewegen et al 2017); yet can also indirectly impact their populations through the transmission of Toxoplasma gondii , a protozoan parasite for which cats are the only known definitive host. Toxoplasmosis is known to impact eastern barred bandicoots (Groenewegen et al 2017) and is prevalent in feral cats on Phillip island (Adriaanse et al 2020).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Managing ecosystems in a sea of uncertainty: invasive species management and assisted colonizations

Rendall

Sutherland

Baker

et al. 2021

Ecological Applications

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Extrapolating from available data, we estimate a specificity of 93% in line with that determined by Hillman et al (2017) for other marsupial species. Sensitivity could not be calculated in this study, and therefore we estimate 96% based on evaluations in domestic cats (Adriaanse et al 2020).…”

Section: Modified Agglutination Test (Mat)mentioning

confidence: 97%

Seroprevalence of

et al. 2022

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Toxoplasma gondii is a ubiquitous protozoan transmitted by felids and infection, morbidity, and mortality occur in numerous marsupial species. This study explores the relationship between cat exposure and Toxoplasma in burrowing bettongs (Bettongia lesueur) in the Arid Recovery Reserve (ARR), South Australia. We estimated seroprevalence, using a modified agglutination test for T. gondii-specific immunoglobulins, in cat-free and cat-exposed bettong populations. Tissue samples collected opportunistically from bettong carcasses and from cats within and around the reserve were screened for T. gondii DNA using multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (M-qPCR). Two cats trapped inside the ARR tested positive (50.0%; 95% CI: 15.0-85.0%). All bettongs tested from the cat-free (n = 48) and cat-exposed (n = 19) exclosures were seronegative (95% CI: 0-7.41% and 0-16.82% respectively). We found no evidence of fatal toxoplasmosis, with all bettong carcasses negative on M-qPCR (n = 11). We propose that T. gondii was not detected in bettongs coexisting with cats primarily due to low exposure of bettongs at the time of sampling, possibly due to poor oocyst viability in arid conditions or low shedding by cats. Ongoing screening throughout high and low rainfall years should be conducted to better establish the risk of Toxoplasma to bettongs in the ARR.

show abstract

Comparison of the modified agglutination test and real-time PCR for detection of Toxoplasma gondii exposure in feral cats from Phillip Island, Australia, and risk factors associated with infection

Cited by 13 publications

References 33 publications

Descriptive Comparison of ELISAs for the Detection of Toxoplasma gondii Antibodies in Animals: A Systematic Review

Descriptive Comparison of ELISAs for the Detection of Toxoplasma gondii Antibodies in Animals: A Systematic Review

Managing ecosystems in a sea of uncertainty: invasive species management and assisted colonizations

Seroprevalence of

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About